Ukrainian carrier Windrose will begin its expansion in the former Yugoslavia this week by introducing three new routes, despite various restrictions imposed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The carrier will commence services from Kiev to Podgorica tomorrow, followed by Skopje on Sunday and Belgrade next Monday. All flights will operate twice per week with the 49-seat Embraer E145 aircraft. Plans to increase frequencies to Zagreb from the existing two weekly to three weekly as of December 4, has been pushed back until December 18. The airline has emphasised its new routes to and from the former Yugoslavia will also offer convenient short connections from Kharkiv, Dnipro and Odessa.
Overall, Windrose will operate 34 flights to the Montenegrin capital this winter with 1.666 one-way tickets on sale. Montenegro’s two international airports, Podgorica and Tivat, saw 44.320 Ukrainian nationals flying to and from the country during the third quarter of the year. The Ukrainian carrier will also run 32 flights to both Skopje and Belgrade over the winter, offering 1.568 one-way seats. Zagreb is being served by 61 flights, with Windrose offering 3.450 seats. A number of rotations to the Croatian capital are being operated by the larger ATR72 aircraft. The new flights will mark the first time Skopje has been linked to Kiev with a nonstop service and will see the resumption of operations between Belgrade and the Ukrainian capital after nine months.
Commenting on the new service, the Ukrainian Embassy in Macedonia said, “For the first time in the history of Ukraine's relations with Macedonia there will be nonstop flights between the two countries. The service will contribute to intensifying bilateral cooperation - strengthening business links, tourism development in both countries and familiarising Macedonian citizens with Ukraine and vice versa”. The Ukrainian Embassy in Montenegro noted, “The availability of direct flights will contribute to the development of Montenegro as a winter tourist destination and will facilitate the development of cultural and economic cooperation between our countries”. So far, Windrose has not scheduled its flights to any country in the former Yugoslavia for the upcoming summer season.
Good on them. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised there were no flights between Kiev and Skopje in the past. Why not?
ReplyDeleteFirst non-Wizz route in years for SKP!
DeleteWhat was the last non Wizz route?
DeleteLOT from Warsaw I think.
DeleteOr was it Aegean to Athens 2 years ago? So, not a "first non wizz route in years".
DeleteNo reason for me to defend wizzair, but the ones being most vocal against them are the ones who are first to post pics of themselves drinking their capuccinos on st mark's in Venice and they could only afford those by saving on their plane ticket with guess who?
yes, with Wizzair.
I think it was Sun Express from Izmir
DeleteCorrect on A3 and +1000 for the rest of your comment about those complaining about W6!
DeleteI doubt there will be demand to Skopie, after all it's a highly Wizzair LCC airport.
Deleteand you know this by using your crystal ball.
DeleteNo, by simply being logical
Deleteadd gastarbaiter to the equation
DeleteI really don't understand what's the logic @13.32?
DeleteWho is going to fly between North Macedonia and Ukraine amidst a global pandemic in winter? The demand for this route is low in general let alone now
DeleteWhat about Sarajevo? Why is everyone overlooking it?
ReplyDeleteThe airport has to reduce fees and actually do something to attract airlines. You can't sit on your hands and expect other to flock to you.
DeleteIs there really a market between Ukraine and Bosnia during the winter months?
DeleteIf there is one between Ukraine and Montenegro in winter, I don't see why there wouldn't be one between Ukraine and Bosnia. Lot of ski resorts.
DeleteI'm not so sure Ukrainians are heading to Montenegro in winter to ski. I assume most want to spend some time by the seaside even though it may be cold.
Deletewe always seem to miss out :(
DeleteIt's not about airlines coming, it's about them staying as well. Aegean came but suspended flights real fast.
DeleteTrue
DeleteThey seem to be looking for any market that is open.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteSmart if you ask me.
DeleteThe gamble with ZAG seems to have paid off.
DeleteIn order to have cashflow, its the only thing you can do at the moment.
Deletean interesting approach
DeleteShame about Zagreb though
ReplyDeleteWell they are already flying there. It's just the extra frequency which has been delayed by 2 weeks.
DeleteHonestly I don't see who is going to fly on these flights. There is currently a curfew in Montenegro.
ReplyDeleteMe neither. Let's see if the flights last.
DeleteNice, any new addition is welcome.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteMontenegro keeps winning.
ReplyDeleteActually passenger numbers in Montenegro have declined by a huge margin, well above the European average. It's one of the most impacted countries.
Delete"Montenegro’s two international airports, Podgorica and Tivat, saw 44.320 Ukrainian nationals flying to and from the country during the third quarter of the year. "
ReplyDeleteThat's a very good figure
Ukrainians were the second most common passengers this summer at TGD and TIV after Serbs.
DeleteMakes sense if you consider that Ukrainians weren't allowed to the EU during the summer season because of Covid restrictions.
DeleteWeren't there always lots of Ukrainians visiting in summer? I think Widrose and Skyup fly to Tivat during the summer. Even Ukraine International maybe.
DeleteYes, it's a popular destination for Ukrainians, but in summer.
DeleteDidn't YM also say they are launching Kiev this year?
DeleteThey also said they might be grounded so I doubt YM went ahead with preparations for KBP flights.
DeleteWhat about Ljubljana?
ReplyDeleteThey never launched it. And it seems they no longer have any plans to.
Deletethey will launch it as soon as covid is over. as far as i remember was second biggest market after zagreb...
DeleteI'm surprised. I expected all of these would have been cancelled like Ljubljana.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to see that the embassies are giving their support to these flights.
ReplyDeleteWhy no schedules for the summer?
ReplyDeleteNo one knows their schedules for next month let alone next summer.
DeleteI think they are waiting to see how the routes will perform and then decide what to keep.
DeleteVery difficult to judge the success of a certain route in winter in the middle of a global pandemic.
DeleteWho is going to fly to Ukraine?
ReplyDeleteActually they could get some transfer passengers. For example from BEG there are a lot of people transferring between two different airlines to get to their final destination simply because they can go out and pick up their luggage without any restrictions and check in again.
DeleteIt looks like Serbia will introduce mandatory PCR test from mid December so this won't last.
DeleteAnyone knows more details about this carrier? They seem to be looking a lot into this region lately.
ReplyDeleteIt is owned by a very shady group of people.
DeleteThere was very little in the form of advertising done for these flights.
ReplyDeleteThese flights are mainly targeted at Ukrainians. Not ex-Yu locals.
DeleteThat's a mistake. Why exclude a group of potential passengers?
DeleteHas anyone looked at their prices??? They are expensive as hell. 240 euros return ticket from Kiev to Belgrade.
ReplyDeleteJU should have kept their Atr this winter.
DeleteHow much did JU cost to Kiev?
DeleteLess than this.
DeleteWell then wait for Sky Up to start flights next March. They are a relatively cheap opetion.
DeleteEvery other day another Ukrainian airline announces new flights to ex-Yu :D
ReplyDeleteGood, at least someone is announcing new flights and not suspending them.
DeleteLet's hope they are successful
ReplyDeleteWould this expansion have come about without Covid?
ReplyDeleteZAG and LJU were planned before Covid (and delayed because of it). As for the rest, not sure.
DeleteShould have launched all these flights long ago under normal circumstances. The markets are affordable for Ukrainian tourists.
DeleteThere are ads for the new Windrose flights at Belgrade Airport.
DeleteNice!
ReplyDeleteDon't Windrose and UIA have some sort of partnership? I think you can buy Windrose tickets on the UIA website.
ReplyDeleteThey are owned by the same oligarch.
DeleteLet's see which of these will actually work out.
ReplyDeleteGood aircraft type for this kind of route.
ReplyDeleteYes, it has the greatest chance of working.
DeleteC'mon people are you still believe that flights between Belgrade and Kiev will start any time soon? This is all fake news for me.
ReplyDelete???
DeleteThey start next Monday. I was at BEG yesterday, there are even commercials for the flights.
And I also wonder why do you think only flights to Belgrade won't start?
DeleteUkraine put Serbia on red list. There is need for quarantine when entering. No one from Serbia would fly. There will be no demand and they will end this flights as soon as possible, just after they collected money for flights that won't happen... That was the case with SkyUp this is the same case here. Let's see how long they'll last even if they start flights.
DeleteIf you get tested upon arrival, you don't have to go to quarantine.
DeleteOne PCR test is one test too much... Waste of time and money. Ukraine is not Egypt or some other hotspot location. People of Serbia won't go and have trouble doing tests and wasting money just for tourist purposes.
DeleteThere are many business passengers and government business that will go in no matter what.
DeleteAfter all we're talking of less than 200 seats per week which is the amount of one Air Serbia A320.
Very good news.
ReplyDeleteI don't get it.
ReplyDeleteWhat?
DeleteI don't see the point of launching all these routes and I don't see many people flying on them.
DeleteMe neither.
DeleteРОЗА ВІТРІВ
ReplyDeleteThere seem to be a lot of available spaces for the inaugural flights which is not a good sign. The first ZAG flight was sold out and it was on an ATR72.
ReplyDeleteYes, but those flights launched when the epidemiological situation was better.
DeleteIf they are sticking with these flights it means they are confident in their success.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't read too much into it.
DeleteIt is most probably part of the Privat Group of billionaire Igor Kolomoysky which also owned PrivatBank before it was nationalised, Ukraine International Airlines, as well as formerly owned now-defunct airlines Cimber Sterling, Donbassaero, Dniproavia and AeroSvit.
ReplyDeleteFastest way to become a millionaire: start as a billionaire and buy an airline.
DeleteSmart billionaires like Warren Buffett pulled out of all airline investments when Covid struck. Those other ones, like those behind Wizz and Windrose, started airline expansion. Easy to spot winners from losers.
DeleteMontenegro Airports shared on their instagram that flights are indeed starting tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI'm very interested to see what the loads will be like.
ReplyDeleteBravo!
ReplyDelete